Forty-one year old Kate has returned to her small Vermont hometown to tend to her mother, suffering from Alzheimer’s. The very night she arrives, a young girl is horrifically killed in a manner similar to one that took place three decades earlier.

Del Griswold was a poor, skinny girl referred by her classmates as “Potato Girl” due the crops her family sold.

“There isn’t a soul in town who hasn’t heard of the Potato Girl, though. She is, by all accounts, the most famous resident of New Canaan–which is funny because, back when she was alive, she was just a skinny kid with scabby knees who, you could tell just by looking, would never amount to much.

How wrong we all were.”

Del was brutally killed the last day of fifth grade. Her murderer was never found. Kate was Del’s friend, but never admitted as such to her classmates. In the last hours of her life, Del was shunned by those close to her. Now an urban myth claims that she isn’t really gone, she comes back to seek revenge on those who were cruel to her so long ago.

“It’s like a potato: you cut it up into pieces, bury any of those pieces-even a little bit of peel if it has eyes-and another plant grows.”

Kate’s past begins to rear it’s ugly head & make itself known in the present. The police begin to question her relationship with Del in an attempt to understand the most recent crime. The uncanny similarities lead them to believe that Kate is somehow responsible; it was only after her return that things started going very wrong.

As she tries to deal with her dementia-ridden mother, Kate begins to wonder just how much her mother really knows about what happened all those years ago. When secrets kept hidden are forced to be revealed, it is apparent that Del’s murder is related to the most recent crime. Can Kate & those from her past put an end to the strange happenings in this small, quiet, Vermont town? Can the Potato Girl finally rest in peace? A phrase Kate heard from a patient years ago comes back: The dead can blame.

Promise Not to Tell was McMahon’s debut novel back in 2007. What a debut it was! She skillfully weaves a story of family secrets & betrayal into an astounding piece of fiction. Not just a murder mystery, the characters in the novel are forced to face secrets long kept hidden.

It would be an understatement to say I loved this book. I first discovered McMahon’s books when I read Dismantled nearly a year ago. She’s quite skilled at capturing the reader, pulling him/her into the book. Promise Not to Tell gains your attention before you even turn a page; McMahon’s book covers, terrifying and stark, send chills down your spine. The chills continue as you turn the pages. As a fan of the supernatural, I find myself desensitized to scenes intended to shock or scare the reader. However, while reading this book, I found myself shuddering in fear, the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck raising. I don’t proclaim this to frighten you, but to encourage you to read this book. You won’t forget it. Highly recommended.

Thank you to TLC tours for providing me the opportuntiy to review this book. All of McMahon’s backlist books are being featured in this tour. Check out the other participants below:

How can I resist a book that raised the hair on the back your neck? Oooh, I love books like that. I want to say that I may already have a copy of this, but it would be packed away. I’ll check at the library today. Thanks for sharing, Jenn!